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Tuesday, 15 September 2015

FM Radio in Smartwatch

FM radio could be coupled to body for antenna

Teardown analysis of the Apple Watch by ABI Research shows that — like most smartphones — the device includes a connectivity chip that incorporates WiFi, Bluetooth and FM radio capabilities. As in the iPhone, however, the FM capabilities of the connectivity chip are not implemented on the device.

The inclusion of an FM receiver in a smartwatch gives rise to the possibility that future products could activate the FM capability and send its output to an associated smartphone via Bluetooth audio. The watch could also send the received FM audio directly to a paired Bluetooth headset, or to nearby Bluetooth speakers. Perhaps the most promising element of this possibility is the potential to couple the FM receiver to the watch-wearer’s body for use as an antenna , eliminating the need for plugging in wired headphones, which are commonly used for FM reception in smartphones today. (NABlabs)